Stadtmuseum Cottbus

About the museum

The roots of the Cottbus Stadtmuseum lie in 1887, when the Niederlausitzer Gesellschaft für Anthropologie und Urgeschichte (Lower Lusatian Society for Anthropology and Prehistory) showed its first exhibition in the city. In 1905 the Verein für Heimatkunde (local studies association) was established as a department of this society, bringing together collections on archaeology, natural history and cultural history. With the acquisition of the first paintings by Carl Blechen in 1913 and the founding of the Kunstverein (art association) in 1916, art was added.

In 1925 the Städtisches Museum opened in the Liersch merchant's house on Neumarkt. When the building had to make way for the new town hall, the holdings were distributed among several buildings. In the Second World War the old grammar school at the Oberkirche, which housed the cultural history collection, burned out almost completely; objects that had been evacuated were lost in large numbers through looting.

After the war the museum moved into Branitz Palace, where it reopened in 1947. From 1961 it also looked after the other museums in the Cottbus district and built up natural history and archaeological departments; the art collection (predecessor of the Kunstmuseum Dieselkraftwerk) and the Wendish Museum later emerged from it. In 2007 the Stadtmuseum took over the natural history collection.

Since December 19, 2015, the Stadtmuseum has been on view in the former savings bank building of 1937 at Bahnhofstraße 22. Together with the town archive at Bahnhofstraße 52, it forms the Städtische Sammlungen Cottbus (Cottbus Municipal Collections).

Highlights

• Tour through Cottbus history from the Middle Ages through the textile industry and the GDR district capital to today
• Permanent natural history exhibition "Vom Dino-Ei zum Wolf" (From Dino Egg to Wolf) on the earth and animal history of Lusatia
• Formation of lignite and the landscape millions of years ago
• Special collection of glass and ceramics
• Tertiary forest in the Spreeauenpark with a 5-meter-wide sequoia stump

Permanent exhibitions

• Stadt- und Regionalgeschichte – A journey from the Lords of Cottbus and the Wendish roots through the Reformation, town fires and industrialization to the GDR district capital and the present.
• Vom Dino-Ei zum Wolf – Permanent natural history exhibition on the earth, plant and animal history of Lusatia, from the formation of lignite to today's wildlife.

Founded

1887

Operated by

Stadt Cottbus/Chóśebuz (Städtische Sammlungen)

Admission & discounts

Ehrenamtskarte Berlin/Brandenburg: 50% discount on the full price. Free for holders of a press card as well as ICOM, German Museums Association and Brandenburg Museums Association ID cards, and for members of the Historischer Heimatverein Cottbus. Events from €2. The basis is the fee schedule of 1.11.2025.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All exhibition areas reachable without steps via an elevator, level and non-slip floors, display cases also viewable from a wheelchair. Two wheelchair-accessible restrooms, seating available to borrow. Accessible parking space on the side street, about 25 m from the entrance (verified data from Reiseland Brandenburg, as of March 2023).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Programs for day care groups and school classes; on children's tours, selected objects may also be touched and examined. Occasional family events such as the action day "Türen auf mit der Maus". Step-free access with an elevator and changing facilities; children and young people under 18 have free admission.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located on Bahnhofstraße between the main station and the city center.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit